A total of 25 people have been prosecuted during last week in Shanghai, China, on the grounds of running unofficial online gambling operations in the country.
The 25 defendants were accused of running an illegal football gambling from offshore offices and handling bets from Chinese players. The Shanghai municipality has been in pursuit of the group involved for over a year and half. The revenues of the illegal venture were estimated at RMB400 million (USD64.2 million).
The defendants received sentences ranging from 6 months up to 5 years and fines of up to USD16,000.
Even though gambling is not illegal in China, it is only allowed in Macao and Hong Kong. The Chinese government has been reluctant to allow online gambling throughout the country.